China drove fintech funding globally in 2018 despite rising tensions with US, report says
- Global investment in financial technology companies more than doubled to US$55.3 billion last year
- The largest fintech investment in 2018 was a US$14 billion fundraising by Ant Financial Services
Despite escalating tensions between the US and China over trade and technology, Chinese companies accounted for nearly half of all fintech investments globally last year, according to a new report by the consulting firm Accenture.
Global investment in financial technology companies more than doubled to US$55.3 billion in 2018, with China accounting for US$25.5 billion in transactions. Overall, the number of transactions worldwide increased 19 per cent to 3,251 last year, according to the report.
The surge came even as US authorities have increased their scrutiny of foreign-backed investments and mergers and blocked some mainland-backed deals.
“Even with the current volatility in global markets and ongoing macroeconomic concerns, investment in the fintech sector remains strong,” Richard Lumb, group chief executive for financial services at Accenture, said.
Accenture used data from CB Insights, a global venture-finance data and analytics firm, for its analysis.
The largest fintech investment in 2018 was the US$14 billion fundraising by Ant Financial Services, the operator of Alipay and an affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding. Alibaba is the parent company of the South China Morning Post.
The Ant fundraising came a few months after US authorities blocked a US$1.2 billion deal to acquire Moneygram International, citing national security concerns.
